The economic analysis is a victim of the "garbage in - garbage out" phenomenon. If actual prices were used for the synthetic turf (versus the incredibly inflated prices MCPS has paid for their fields) the numbers would have look even more favorable for synthetic turf. The going rate nationally for a top-notch turnkey 1st quality synthetic turf field is in the $3.75 range per square foot +/- .25. This includes everything except the base preparation (which the MCPS is also over-paying dramatically for). An 80,000 sqft turf field costs 300k everywhere in the country except MCPS... The base prep is roughly the same. The real question is why does the MCPS pay $1,125,000 for something that costs everyone else 600k?? That is the real scandal here!

Since the Fieldturf Duraspine product is soon-to-be unavailable (see lawsuit) the MCPS can probably extricate itself from the purchasing arrangement on a technicality. The County can then conduct an open, fair and transparent competitive bid process and then they'll see just how badly they have been ripped-off on the previous fields.

ps has anyone checked to see if the Fieldturf Duraspine fields installed in Montgomery County are defective??

Ok, chemicals needed to kill bacteria on the field...not a problem. Ground up tires into pellets, the kids are not going to eat them, so whats the problem? Cripes, if you people are so concerned with rubber used at recreational facilities, you need to take ALL the ground up tires used at playgrounds out too. I just see the people against artifial turf are just people against sports, which is common place in Montgomery County. Seems they just want to keep following the lead of the idiots out in California...

Guess some people in Montgomery County are just as ridiculous as people in Fairfax who read the EXACT SAME REPORT and concluded that NATURAL GRASS was better for their playing fields.

Wow. Who knew the people in Fairfax were so like people in California. Must be something in the water.

And yes, we LOVE our NO BID, DEFECTIVE plastic grass here in Montgomery County. Keep it coming. Money is plentiful and we can replace plastic fields every few years. What's a few million here and there in this economy?

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Principles

Formed in 2002, the Parents' Coalition of Montgomery County, Maryland seeks to achieve the goals of coherent, content-rich curriculum standards; high expectations combined with timely remediation and acceleration; a wider range of educational options for parents and children; greater transparency and accountability; and meaningful community input.

E-mail: parentscoalitionmc AT outlook.com

What the Gazette said about the Parents' Coalition

It has taken a watchdog outside group, the Parents’ Coalition of Montgomery County, to ferret out this waste. The coalition, driven by its sharp curiosity, frequently uses the Maryland Public Information Act to request public records and keep track of district decisions and spending.

We commend the coalition for its important work on this front. It is saving county residents money as inappropriate spending has been uncovered.

What The Washington Post said about the Parents' Coalition

The coalition might be the best-known parent advocacy group in the region. Its members represent several constituencies, including parents of special education and gifted education students and fiscal watchdogs. The group's defining victory came this school year when the school system scaled back the fees charged to families for course materials.

Coalition leaders have drawn attention to the misuse of funds collected from students for activities, the broadcast of a commercial radio service on school buses and, with their "Weast Watch" blog, the travel habits of Weast and his lieutenants.

MD Open Meetings Act Compliance Board staff says

Jerry Weast on the Parents' Coalition

"Along the way, you’ve had a challenging relationship with the Parents’ Coalition, the network of citizen activists who use the political process and other means to hold MCPS accountable.

The thing people accuse me of is listening, but not hearing. I hear, but I do not always agree. I am sorry that the world is faster than it was 10 years ago. I did not do that. [But] if we do not keep up, then our kids will be behind. We have to stop whining and get real."